


Pepper Poppers

by GalMarshmallow



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Belly Kink, Body Image, Button Popping, Chub, Clothes Bursting, Embarrassment, Light Slob, M/M, Slice of Life, Stuffing, Weight Gain, belly play, feederism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-07-28 02:33:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16232429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalMarshmallow/pseuds/GalMarshmallow
Summary: A new farmer moves to Pelican Town and Shane finds him very frustrating. But not as frustrating as how hard it is to stop eating the homemade meals he gives as gifts.Shane weight gain/chub/feederism fic. Chapters won't necessarily be a continuous arcing storyline but will still be in chronological order.





	1. Work Clothes

There had to be some kind of ulterior motive. Pelican Town was fairly remote and meant there weren’t new neighbors often. It was all too convenient that the new man who had taken over the farm to the west of town was paying so much attention to him. Shane had seen him around plenty; talking with his neighbors, running errands, buying things from his aunt. But it wasn’t until the farmer had really settled in that Shane realized he would be forced to acknowledge him as well.

He had introduced himself as Ewan the first time they met, to which Shane had pretty much just brushed him off without introducing himself in return. This hadn’t been enough to scare off the friendly farmer. Ewan wasn’t talkative at all, preferring to listen, but he was damn persistent. He would pop up quite conveniently when Shane was getting off work or on his way over to the saloon with gifts. The evidence was all in Shane’s room. Dishes and tupperware he really needed to return some time that the farmer brought his home cooking in. He’d buy him bar food sometimes too, beer and pizza mostly. But that home cooking was what Ewan had noticed he couldn’t resist. Most of them smothered in homemade cheeses.

Shane stared at himself in the mirror as he thought this over, wondering if this was the real reason Ewan was continually bringing him food. It was certainly the most roundabout way he had ever had someone try to bring his self esteem down even further. He didn’t eat well as it was, drinking frequently and living off of microwavable foods, so he always had a modest paunch and a certain roundness to his face. But since the farmer had taken to providing so much of his favorite meal, he had softened up even more.

It wasn’t something he often thought much about. He would feel self conscious of his weight at times, but not enough to bother keeping track of it or for it to be on his mind a lot. It was something that only came up when he got caught in the rain and saw how his wet clothes stuck to the curve of his stomach, or when he had to bend over to get something and could feel his belly sag over the waistband of his pants. It didn’t help that there weren’t many heavier guys in Pelican Town like there were in the city. Gus and Clint were both heavier than him, maybe the farmer by a bit too, but most of the other men were pretty slim or had a lean-muscular build. He was neither of those things, lacking the drive to exercise and often piling up extra calories in the form of alcoholic drinks and cheap convenience foods. But with the extra meals on top of that, it was showing.

His beer belly had swelled into a more obvious pot belly, extending its swell to his chest as well as his pecs rounded out. His soft jawline was more of just a curve now, hinting at a double chin that showed whenever he looked down or spoke. His clothes didn’t help much with this with how his shorts dug into him and gave him a muffin top, particularly when he forced the button to close which was getting harder to do.

His backside was fairly tightly packed into the shorts as well, more voluminous than he would have guessed it would be if he were to put on weight. He tugged uncomfortably at the slight wedgie he was getting and decided the shorts were a bust. He needed to get changed anyway for work and while he was there he could think of whether it was worth a trip all the way to Zuzu City to pick up more clothes or if he’d just look into buying online.

 

Getting into his uniform was a bit of a wrestling match between him and the outfit itself but he managed to squeeze in. It had been feeling tighter lately but it seemed it was finally at a point where he would need to think about asking the manager to order him a new one. It would have to do for now, and with his old Joja jacket over top of it, it didn’t look too bad. He started out the door, saying goodbye to Marnie and Jas on his way out but not slowing down. He didn’t need his aunt to notice how his clothes were fitting and say something about it that could sabotage his drive to go to work for the day.

 

At Jojamart, Shane found it easy to avoid thinking about his weight. At most he might have to talk to Mr. Morris or get some passing greeting from Sam as he went in the back to start getting merchandise to stock the shelves, but that was it. It wasn’t the busiest place and those who did come by to buy things knew not to bother him with questions about the products. He was there to fill the shelves, straighten up, and go home. So as soon as he clocked in, he got to work.

The hours seemed to sluggishly lumber by as he did his repetitive task. Up and down the aisles with crates of merchandise, zoning as he went and making sure everything looked neat. He made note of a couple of items that were on sale, making sure he’d remember to grab them when he did his grocery shopping at a later date. He was nearly done when it happened.

He squatted down to put away some gluten disks on a low shelf when he heard a significant RIP. He straightened up in a quick snap and felt the back of his pants. His cotton shorts were showing right through the fabric. He closed his eyes, counting down from ten so as not to react too dramatically to the bit of misfortune.  _ Am I really surprised? Bad luck always happens to me _ , he thought to himself. But he couldn’t really blame it all on bad luck. He blamed the farmer. That damn farmer was doing this on purpose. There was no way he could predict that this specifically would happen but Ewan was surely fattening him up on purpose. He hadn’t offered him anything but greasy junk food since arriving while he saw him delivering fresh vegetables and flowers and minerals to others. It was some kind of bias against him.

 

Shane hurried to go to Mr. Morris’s office, his jacket tied around his waist to hide the rip in the back of his pants. He very reluctantly informed him of what had happened and his need to go home right away, as well as need for a new uniform in a larger size. Morris seemed more amused than anything while obviously not too pleased about hearing Shane needed to leave before his shift was over.

“I’ll put in a rush order on it,” he told Shane. “Can’t have you missing work over… Wardrobe problems,” he said, that disingenuous grin of his present on his face as always. That look always annoyed Shane but in this case, he would accept it. The man was doing him a favor by getting the uniform shipped quickly after all. He hated working at Jojamart, but he would hate having to ask his aunt for money due to missed hours even more.

Sam noticed Shane on his way out of the store, moving his headphones off of one ear to call out to him.

“Hey, heading off already?” Sam asked, getting his phone from his pocket to check the time. Shane didn’t answer, just walking faster to get out the door. He didn’t want to stop and talk to anybody. He just wanted to go home and get changed.

 

That plan was ruined when he bumped into someone in front of the store, nearly knocking him over. Ewan scrambled to grab the tupperware before it could fall from his hands, giving a relieved sigh when he caught hold of it again. He smiled at Shane with a nervous look as he saw Shane’s alarmed and irritated expression. He was about the last person Shane wanted to see right now. Ewan adjusted some of his red hair out of his face, giving a murmured apology for running into him. Then, he held the tupperware out to Shane. Another gift.

Shane could hardly believe it. He had showed up at his work to give him even more food. After the incident with his uniform he was in mood and quickly shouldered Ewan out of the way to hurry along the path back through town to his house.

 

The farmer watched him go and then looked down in confusion at the food in his hands. Maybe Shane just had a bad day at work and wasn’t in the mood for socializing. He wasn’t very talkative even on the best days. Ewan knew he’d see him again later in the Saloon. Just about everybody showed up at the end of the week after all. So he’d stop by with something new for him. He couldn’t have him going home and just eating microwave dinners. The thought of it made him feel all the more that he needed to catch Shane again. He would have to make him something special that he wouldn’t turn down.

Ewan shot the Jojamart a rueful glance as he turned around to walk back into town. He had spent time working for their head office so he knew what kind of company it was. They weren’t going to get a penny out of him. Especially not when he had rediscovered his love of cooking and started to take pride in his food. He didn’t need their mass produced junk when he had fresh ingredients to work with both from his own farm and from Pierre’s store.

He took a turn once across the bridge, deciding he would just take this dish to the old couple in town who seemed to appreciate his cooking. No point in letting it go cold after all.

  
  


Marnie had tried to ask what was wrong when Shane came rushing through the house almost two hours earlier than he was supposed to get off from his shift. He went straight into his room and locked it without a word to her and it really concerned her. Cautiously, she went to the door and knocked.

“Shane? What’s wrong? Did something happen at work?” she questioned. She could hear him shuffling around inside and the slight squeak of his bedsprings moving when he sat down on the bed. “...You weren’t let go, were you?” she asked reluctantly. The shuffling around stopped and there was quiet for a moment before she could hear his footsteps come over to the door.

“No, I wasn’t fired. I messed up my uniform,” he answered through the door without opening it. “They’re ordering me a new one. But I really needed to get home and change.” She furrowed her brows at that answer. She didn’t notice anything particularly wrong with it when he came in. Had he gotten something on it that she hadn’t noticed.

“Alright then.” She went back to the kitchen to make a fresh pot of coffee and then sit at the table with her cup while she read the paper. She still felt something was wrong, going by the tone in Shane’s voice. He sounded upset, but like he was trying to hold it back. Maybe it was something he didn’t want her knowing about. Eventually he did come out and she looked up as he shut his door behind him. She raised a brow at seeing he was in his pajamas, which looked like they needed to be replaced pretty soon judging by how they hugged around his middle. In his arms, he had his uniform pants, which he moved to drop in the trashbin.

“Ah, Shane, don’t throw those out,” she said, drawing an odd sort of look from him.

“Why not? They got ruined at work. I can’t wear them again.”

“Well give them to me anyway. They don’t look bad off at all. I can use the material for patching other clothes.” She waved him over to give her the pants and she unwadded them, looking them over. “Shane, it doesn’t look like there’s anything wrong with these.” She lowered the pants to look at him and saw his face was red as a beat as did. He mumbled something. “What was that?” He huffed and then spoke again, more clearly this time.

“Turn them around,” he sighed, holding a hand over his face. Marnie looked puzzled but did as she was told only to finally see what was wrong.

“Ohhhh. And this happened at work?” He nodded. “Well no wonder you were in such a hurry! Come on, Shane, sit down here for a second.” He sat down at the table across from her, lowering his hands and showing his still flushed face and tired expression.

“What is it?”

“I know this kind of thing is embarrassing, but there’s no shame in it, you know. It happens to everybody. Well… Not everybody, but a lot of people. Heck, it happened to me once back in my younger years during a town function!” She grinned at the memory, clearly not so embarrassed anymore. “I had these tight jeans I liked back then and wore them without thinking about all the dancing and running around me and my friends would be doing. Split ‘em right down the middle. Guess they were tighter than they were supposed to be, haha!” Shane was quiet at the story, unsure why she was telling him this.

“Oh. Well uh… At least you’re over it?’

“Mhm. But that’s not the point here, Shane. I know this was embarrassing, but it didn’t just happen out of the blue.” She gave him a somewhat knowing look. “Our family’s always been the type to be a little… Well, we’re not the best at keeping slimmed down. It’s just a predisposition I guess. Slow metabolism or whatever they call it now.” Shane stared past her at the fridge, thinking about how long he would need to let her continue on before he could grab a six pack from it and hole up in his room for the night. “And I’m not insulting you for your weight. I just wanted to say, if you need to buy new clothes that fit you better, just do it. Having clothes that fit matters more than being able to say you still wear the same pants size.”

“Yeah, thanks, Aunt Marnie. I’m already getting new pants so-”

“If you’d have bought them earlier, you wouldn’t have split ‘em.” She smiled in amusement and rolled up the pants. “I’m still keeping these for patches though.” She took a drink of her coffee then waved him off. “Alright, I can see you getting antsy. You don’t need to stay anymore.”  _ It could have been worse _ , he thought to himself.  _ At least she didn’t say ‘you’ve been getting fat lately’ _ .

Shane got up and grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge. He then paused and glanced back at Marnie, making sure she wasn’t looking his way, then grabbed a box of cold leftover pizza. He then disappeared back into his room with all three, ready to just be alone in his room for a while and not think about his clothes. He had the rest of the night off and was already in his pajamas, so he could even call it an early night. Two beers and a pizza to help him relax and get ready for bed. That sounded like the perfect plan to him.


	2. Comfort Foods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane tries to enjoy dinner at the Stardrop Saloon and get his mind off of how he has outgrown most of his clothes.

Shane sat at the far corner of the bar with his head down, glad that the others there at the saloon didn’t come over to bother him. He had changed back into his shirt and jacket but the incident with his pants had made him nervous. So he had dug out an old, slightly worn looking pair of jogging pants. He wore them a lot when he lived in the city but had made it a point to avoid it when coming to Pelican Town. With his aunt there to worry about him, he was doing his best not to wear that kind of depression-based lack of motivation on his sleeve. He dressed properly, brushed his hair, and kept up on his chores, no matter how bad his week went. But he would have to make an exception for now and opt for comfort since forcing his way into his usual jean shorts came with the risk of popping more seams. Even if the distressed jogging pants only served to make him look scruffy when paired with his hole-ridden Joja jacket.

He sat back up and looked to Gus who was serving Pam her third pint of pale ale for the night. He waited for him to finish then caught his eye, waving him over.

“Gus. I think I’m gonna have dinner here tonight,” Shane told him as soon as he was within earshot over the sound of the weekend chattering and the jukebox.

“You think so, huh?” Gus asked with a smile, setting his rag down behind the counter. “Well what do you think you’ll be having then?”

“I thinkin’ a pizza. With lots of peppers on it,” Shane answered. “And pepperoni. And olives. And extra cheese,” he listed off as Gus jotted down the order on a little notepad.

“Right. I’ll get that right in the oven.” Gus mentioned to Emily to keep an eye on things as he passed her to go back to the kitchen then disappeared around the corner.

Shane went back to sipping his beer and trying to avoid catching anyone else’s attention in the saloon. It was slowly filling up with the usuals and he could see one by one the younger town members filing over into the arcade area with the pool table to hang out together. He felt a slight envy for them, having a group of friends like that as well as being a good several years younger than him. He dismissed the feeling as quickly as it came, feeling bad for even thinking that way. It wouldn’t make much of a difference for him if he was still fresh out of highschool and in shape from his time playing gridball. He had plenty of other problems these days and they weren’t caused by his age or his looks.

 

He was glad when Gus brought out his pizza, saving him from his own thoughts as he people-watched from the bar. He could at least rely on his mood being boosted slightly by one of his favorite meals.

He thanked Gus as he set down the pizza on its big plate and a pile of napkins next to it. The napkins were certainly necessary with how much cheese was on the pizza, the thick layer on top perspiring droplets of grease here and there. The pizza was cut into generously portioned slices and Shane took one of the larger ones, delighting in how the cheese stretched from the edges down to the rest of the pizza. Gus took the request of ‘extra cheese’ seriously and Shane was not at all disappointed. 

He took a bite and it felt now like his day hadn’t been quite so bad. Being stuck wearing jogging pants around town wasn’t even the worst thing to happen that week if he considered the incident at work. He could just relax and be comfortable now while he had a hot dinner there in the saloon.

Nobody came to bother him while he ate his pizza. It was a benefit of sitting in the corner by the fireplace like he did. It wasn’t a good place to socialize given there were only a couple of stools and the tables weren’t nearby like they were in the center seats. Of course, he found there was another reason nobody ever stole his spot was it could get pretty hot there when the fireplace was lit. He felt pretty lucky that Gus hadn’t bothered tonight because he was already feeling a little sweaty with how hot the peppers on his pizza were. It was just the way he liked it but it did mean keeping his jacket on was all the more necessary to make sure the sweating wasn’t so noticeable.

Halfway through his pizza he paused his eating for a break to drink his beer, feeling his tongue needed a rest and that his stomach needed some time to catch up with how much he was eating. He was pretty surprised that he wasn’t feeling full yet. Usually it was around this time he started considering asking for something to take the leftovers home in so he could have the remaining slices for breakfast the next day. But oddly he wasn’t even quite sated yet.

 

He ordered another beer before continuing on with his meal, occasionally having to stop and use the napkins to wipe his hands and face. The pizza grease wasn’t terribly messy but he didn’t want to have it all over him, especially when he noticed a couple of stray drips had gotten on his shirt. He tried to dab at the little spot of grease and in looking down at it he realized he was looking a little more bloated than usual. In fact, his shirt was starting to ride up. He slouched forward and quickly tugged it back into place, finding it covered it as long as he wasn’t sitting up straight. It had ridden up a couple of inches which wasn’t terribly dramatic but still exposed a stripe of flesh and dark hair that trailed up to his belly button. He didn’t need that to add to his already scruffy appearance.

Having settled that, he decided to tuck back into his dinner, figuring he had better hurry up and eat so he could leave. He alternated between eating pizza and working on his beer, a little less careful about it this time though he still took time to wipe his face. His increasing problems with his clothes were still at the back of his mind but it was hard to worry about it when he was eating. It felt good to eat something he liked and it felt good to feel full. He hadn’t realized before just how hungry he was because he soon found he was out of pizza.

 

He looked down and as he expected found that his shirt had ridden up even further. He pulled it back down with some frustration and proceeded to zip up his jacket over it. The jacket strained some to fit over his bloated stomach but it seemed to do the trick for now, pinning the shirt down in place with its tight fit. He sighed and inspected how the bottom of the jacket pinched into the fat around his waist. He’d had it for a long time so he knew it would need replaced eventually, but it had been pretty loose when he first got it. He could chalk up the extra bloat to how greasy the pizza was, or to just overeating in this case, but he knew a lot of it was his weight. He would have to eventually start thinking about what he was going to do about that.

For now he felt pleasantly full and could sit and drink the rest of his beer. As he took another drink, he turned to look and see if the activity in the saloon had died down at all.

 

Instead he found Ewan sitting on the stool next to him, waiting for him to notice him. The farmer smiled at him, dimples showing on his freckled cheeks, and Shane scowled in return. He was getting pretty sick of this guy showing up everywhere he did. Sure, it was a small town. Miniscule even. But this was just getting ridiculous.

“Do I really have to keep telling you to get lost?” Shane asked, taking a long drink of his beer. The farmer set a plate covered in plastic wrap on the bar top and its contents made Shane stop mid-drink to stare before putting his mug down. Did he seriously have a stalker?

On the plate was his favorite food; cream cheese stuffed jalapeno poppers. How could Ewan possibly know? Did he just guess? Did he watch to see what he ate on different days?

“Why did you make me this?” Shane asked, his stare harsh and untrusting. Ewan looked surprised at this and hesitated to answer. Then he looked over his shoulder and pointed back to one of the tables close to the entrance where Marnie and Lewis were sitting and talking. Marnie almost didn’t notice the gesture but waved with a smile to Shane and the farmer. Shane gave a meek wave back before slouching over the bar again with his elbows on the bartop. “You… Asked my aunt what I like?” he asked. Much to Shane’s embarrassment, Ewan nodded in confirmation. He didn’t even look like he saw anything wrong with this. He at least felt a little more at ease about Ewan’s odd behavior. Maybe he wasn’t actually a conniving creep. Maybe he was just socially inept.

Shane held his head in his hands a moment before sitting up and pulling the plate over. Ewan was just going to sit there watching him until he did anyway. “Fine. I’ll try your pepper poppers. Just… Stop doing that thing you do,” Shane said as he pulled the plastic off of it. Ewan looked puzzled and Shane sighed. “You know, showing up everywhere I do like you’re keeping track of my schedule or something,” he clarified, to which the farmer nodded. Satisfied with what little response he could get, Shane picked up one of the peppers and took a bite.

 

The burst of flavor was unexpected. He ate plenty of pepper poppers but for the most part they were the microwavable kind. This was entirely different. Freshly picked peppers stuffed with two kinds of homemade cheeses that were creamy and practically melted away in his mouth. There were little crumbs of bacon mixed in along with a couple of ingredients he couldn’t identify and some extra seasonings. The pepper itself had a strong flavor of its own along with a slight smokiness. The farmer must have grilled them.

He savored the taste and realized after some silence that he had closed his eyes while eating. He stuffed the second half in his mouth and made it a point to not linger on it quite as long. He swallowed and then spoke.

“They’re pretty good,” he said, clearing his throat a little. ‘Pretty good’ was a tremendous understatement but he wasn’t looking to stroke Ewan’s ego. He couldn’t give him the idea he liked him after all. Even with the light praise, the farmer looked over the moon and stayed right where he was to order a beer and then go back to watching Shane enjoy his cooking.

Shane had gone back to ignoring him but that was alright with him. He had seen that spark of pleasure on his face as he ate and it was exactly what he wanted. Even if he wouldn’t smile, he could see he had made him at least a little bit happy. Meanwhile Shane was happy to have another of the peppers, and then another. Even though he had just eaten, the delicious pepper poppers had rekindled his appetite as if he had eaten nothing at all. He could probably eat these all day, and the desire to do so crossed his mind while he snacked. He occasionally sipped his beer to soothe some of the capsaicin building up in his mouth and causing it to burn, but at no point did he complain about the heat. The spiciness was just right for him.

 

One by one the peppers disappeared until Shane eventually realized he had cleared the whole plate of them. He tried to remember just how many there had been. He hadn’t counted them but it seemed like too many for him to rightfully just eat them all in one sitting like that, let alone right after single handedly polishing off an entire pizza. He tried to very subtly adjust his shirt, finding the jacket was tighter than ever but couldn’t stop his shirt from riding up on the increased slope. His gut stuck out roundly, taut with food despite the softness above and below it from his fat.

He felt huge and he suddenly worried more for the state of his jacket and whether it would hold up. He tried pulling it down to cover his stomach anyway. It didn’t help much so he pulled up his jogging pants more instead. It was the best he could do. He double checked to make sure Ewan didn’t notice. The farmer looked pretty occupied with trying to drink the huge mug of beer Gus had handed him without spilling it everywhere now that he was starting to get tipsy from just the first few sips.

_ Lightweight _ , Shane thought with a roll of his eyes. But it worked in his favor in this case. He pushed the plate back over to Ewan as he got up off of his barstool, acutely aware of the way his backside gave a little jiggle when he did. He thanked Yoba that the time of night meant everyone was well into their drinks and less likely to notice him looking so full and heavy as he made his escape.

“Thanks, Ewan. It was good,” he said, giving as plain a compliment as he could on his way past him to leave the saloon. Ewan, as tipsy as he was, just smiled a big goofy smile at him before he went. Seeing that smile, Shane quickly turned his head to look straight ahead of him, amused but still determined not to smile at the farmer. He wasn’t about to give him any inclination that he should continue to bring him food. Not when he was already sluggishly lumbering out of the saloon with the weight of a meal that could feed four people sitting in his gut. It was going to be a long walk home, but he could hope it would at least somewhat make up for the many extra calories.


	3. Check Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane hurts his ankle and has to make the dreaded visit to Harvey's clinic. He already avoided the doctor to begin with, but now he dreads what he'll say about his ever increasing weight.

 

The Clinic was a place Shane avoided whenever he could. He wasn’t the type to go in for annual check-ups and he didn’t particularly like being around the doctor. Harvey wasn’t terrible. At least, he wasn’t one of the locals Shane really hated to see or be around. But he had a very annoying tick that came with his job. Harvey just couldn’t help but talk about health advice, whether personally tailored to the person he was talking to or just bringing up that it was flu or hay fever season or whatever else might be on his mind. He just couldn’t leave work behind. However, since he spent so much time staying in the clinic anyway, Shane didn’t have to put up with him so his opinion stayed mostly neutral.

However today he would be stuck seeing him as he had managed to pull a pretty boneheaded move and hurt his ankle while helping Marnie out with feeding the animals. He had limped his way to the clinic with an old walking stick Marnie had around and with Jas tagging along to ‘help’ by running around and kicking rocks off of the path as if he might somehow manage to trip and fall again. It was pretty endearing and he made sure to thank her before she went running off to the playground when they got to the clinic. He was glad she didn’t ask to stick around. He was sure this was going to be long and boring and possibly awkward if Harvey asked too many questions to make up for his lack of check ups.

 

He stepped inside the clinic and checked in with Maru at the front counter, explaining what he was there for. She leaned over the counter to take a peek at his ankle and he was glad in that moment that he had gone clothes shopping and gotten some shorts that actually fit. She grimaced at seeing his ankle looking heavily bruised with a scrape across one side, noticing some scrapes along his knees as well.

“Wow, how’d you manage that?” she asked, bringing her eyes back up to his face. He furrowed his brows and glanced down at his ankle, finding he had to bring it forward some to get a good look at it. His belly obscured it from his view and he did his best to not show that he hadn’t realized this until now. If Maru did notice, she was polite enough not to say anything about it.

“Managed to stick my foot right in a gopher hole while I was carrying some bags of feed to the barn. It caved in and I wound up eating dirt for it,” Shane said, leaning against the counter to make it easier to keep his weight off of the ankle. She sat back in her seat and whistled.

“I’d say so. I’m glad you came here. That looks like it could be serious,” she told him. “Just wait here a second.” She got up and headed into the back office to speak with Harvey and let him know about Shane.

Shane lingered there at the counter, not keen on sitting down to wait in case it was tough for him to get back up with his bad foot. Luckily he didn’t have to wait for too long before Maru returned, Harvey trailing along after her.

“Come into the examination room, Shane. Let’s take a look at that… Ankle…” Harvey slowed down as he spotted Shane at the counter. He looked surprised for a moment, brows popping upward before he quickly hid the expression with a smile. “Want me to get you some crutches first? That stick doesn’t look like it’s doing you much good.”

“Crutches would be great,” Shane agreed, deciding to try to ignore the look he had given him. It had been a while since the doctor had seen him so it was easy to tell that the thing that had shocked him was his weight. He knew very well that even with better fitting clothes, it was not a subtle change. He had gone from slightly chubby to undeniably fat, his new baggier jacket doing little to hide the swell of his gut or his new lovehandles. He knew it showed in his face as well, sporting a modest double chin. No doubt Harvey had seen this change for the first time and didn’t quite recognize him for a moment.

 

Shane followed Harvey back into the examination room once he brought him a pair of crutches to use, sitting down on one of the beds as Harvey instructed while Harvey pulled up a stool to sit on the take a better look at his ankle.

“It looks like there’s some swelling. When did you hurt it?” he asked, gesturing for Shane to bring his foot up for him. Shane did so, wincing as soon as Harvey touched it.

“An hour, maybe two. I laid down on the couch for a bit with it raised up on some pillows. Tried putting ice on it but it hurt too much to keep on there,” Shane admitted, not too proud about not being able to handle that. He was sure he’d had worse injuries in his gridball days, but he wasn’t used to that kind of pain anymore.

“Hm. It might look a little worse off later then,” Harvey mentioned, starting to examine his ankle and lightly touch different parts.

 

After some squirming on Shane’s part and a lot of muttered apologies from Harvey, Harvey came to the conclusion that it wasn’t broken but had a pretty bad sprain.

“You’ll want to wrap it with some elastic gauze to help bring down the swelling, at least until it starts looking normal again,” Harvey told him, grabbing some to show him how to wrap it first. “You’ll obviously want to stay off of it a while too so you can take those crutches with you. And I’ll give you something for the pain.” He paused at that, glancing at Shane a moment. “Aspirin of course,” he added as an afterthought. 

“Yeah, that’s fine with me,” Shane said, guessing that Harvey didn’t want him to assume he would be getting any painkillers. He could understand why he wouldn’t want to give him any though it still stung he thought he needed to reiterate that he wouldn’t.

“Good. Now, just try and hold still.” Harvey began wrapping the sprain, occasionally glancing up at Shane. Shane avoided his eyes but he could still feel them on him, clearly examining him. “Shane, you never come in here for check ups so I don’t actually have much of a record on you,” Harvey mentioned off handedly.  _ Oh boy. It begins _ , Shane thought to himself.

“Yeah. I don’t like doctors offices,” Shane said, unable to bring himself to plainly say ‘I don’t like doctors’ when Harvey was already doing his best to help him.

“Right. Well, I don’t see you very much in general. But I um… I know you’re a bit more private than some people here in Pelican Town. So I don’t mean to overstep any boundaries with this question and I ask it purely as your doctor. Is everything alright, Shane?” The question caught him off guard.

“What?”

“Is… Is everything alright? You know, in your life right now,” Harvey asked, eyes back down on Shane’s ankle as he wrapped the gauze. “Have you started a new medication recently? Or… Or been having any emotional or relationship troubles?”

“I- No. No, neither of those things. Why do you ask?”

“Have you recently had a change in diet?”

“Oh.” Shane sighed and dragged a hand down his face. “Buh… Of course that’s what you wanted to know about.” He looked down at Harvey, seeing how at this angle he was partially obscured by the curve of his gut. It didn’t help that he was sure Harvey could see him in the most unflattering way from down there. “Look. I’m not eating my feelings or suffering side effects or trying out some wild fad diet,” he started off. “I’m… I’ve just been eating more in general.” Harvey raised a brow and Shane found himself looking up at the ceiling. “There’s just been a lot more homecooked meals on top of what I normally eat and… I know it sounds like excuses but it’s not on me,” he told him, trying to figure out how to explain why he had been eating so much without it coming out so strange.

“Is Marnie…? I’m afraid I don’t understand, Shane.” After a moment, Shane started to speak but stopped at hearing a knock at the door. He and Harvey both looked over and he frowned at seeing the freckled face in the little window to the examination room.

“You! Following me to a doctor’s appointment? We talked about this!” Shane barked at Ewan, having no patience for him when he was already dealing with a frustrating situation. Ewan quickly shook his head and stepped in through the door, showing he was carrying a jar of pickles. “Oh. You’re… here for Harvey. Obviously.” Ewan knew his preferences too well to ever bring him something as disgusting as a jar of pickles but it seemed like just the kind of thing Harvey would like. Shane could feel his face go red, sinking into himself a bit. The farmer didn’t seem to mind, just looking to Harvey and giving the pickle jar a little shake with a smile his way.

“It's for me? This is my favorite food! It's like you read my mind,” Harvey said with a bright grin, taping off the gauze and getting up to accept his present. “Ah… But you really shouldn’t wander in here while I’m with a patient. You never know what we could be talking about. It could be very private!” he added after remembering what he had been discussing with Shane.

Ewan bowed his head and gave what Shane could only assume was a mumbled apology. The farmer really was terrible with words but Harvey got the gist of it. Shane realized this would help him out with explaining what was happening to his waistline.

“This is just the thing I was trying to tell you about,” Shane told Harvey. “Ewan, he’s what I meant.” Ewan looked at Shane with wide eyes, unsure of what he was being accused of. Harvey looked just as puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

“His  _ cooking _ , Harvey. He’s always bringing me food. And not things like jars of pickles,” Shane insisted. “Always stuff like pizza and pepper poppers and burgers.”

“Oh!” Harvey smiled and looked almost relaxed now. “Hah. So it’s just you’ve been overeating because Ewan’s been bringing you too much to eat. I was worried it was something else. Emotional problems can cause a sudden increase in weight as well,” he mentioned offhand. “Well, I’m not as worried knowing that it’s something simple like that. But I feel as your doctor I should mention you shouldn’t overdo it. Eating beyond your capacity isn’t good for you and it can cause trouble for you down the line. Especially with foods like that. It gives me heartburn just to think about eating all that,” he said with a little laugh. Shane was shocked at this reaction. Not even a lecture. Heck, not even a word to Ewan about it.

“So you’re not gonna get on my case for it?”

“Well, no. I suppose I might worry if you gain too much and it becomes a hindrance in your life or causes other problems like knee pains or digestive issues. But you’re an adult and I’m not a dietician. You can make your own choices. I really do recommend getting some heartburn pills though if you do eat like that often,” Harvey said, adjusting his glasses. “And perhaps start including fresh vegetables and fruits in your diet to balance things out.” Ewan listened and furrowed his brows, not liking the idea of his cooking causing Shane any pain like that. But he didn’t want to interrupt Harvey’s discussion with Shane to ask about what he could do to neutralize the problem with the spicy foods.

 

Harvey moved to his desk and brought out a measuring tape which made Shane tense up. “However, since I’ve already got you here, I would like to take down your measurements and weigh you. That way if you do become concerned about any changes, we’ll have a point of reference to compare. Please stand up, Shane.” Shane furrowed his brows and shifted the crutches to try and pull himself up. He found it difficult without putting his injured foot on the ground, grunting with effort as he struggled to get the right angle to get up until Ewan stepped forward to put his hands under his arms and help lift him up.

Shane was startled at how Ewan lifted him, moving him up into a standing position as easily as moving someone half his size. He stared and for the first time paid attention to Ewan’s shape in his work clothes. He was dressed as plainly as always, wearing a flannel shirt and overalls. Shane had always assumed he was just a chubby guy, seeing a modest but still quite round belly that pressed out against his denim. But trailing his eyes upward a bit, he took notice of his arms, thick with muscle from his time spent chopping wood every day and swinging his pickaxe down in the mines. He had a slight layer of softness overtop but the bulk of his biceps was unmistakable.

So caught up in looking at Ewan, Shane jolted in surprise at feeling a hand brush up against his stomach. He looked down and realized it was Harvey putting the measuring tape around his middle. Shane looked up again, catching Ewan’s eyes with his, and Ewan gave a fond smile before stepping back to give him more space. Shane was filled with a strange mix of emotions, dealing with the slight shame of letting the doctor measure how big around his waistline was now with the uncertainty of his realized attraction to the farmer’s body. By the time he was asked to step onto a scale, he had too much on his mind to be shy about the number. At least until he saw Harvey’s eyebrows shoot up as they had earlier before returning to their initial position.

The doctor jotted down some numbers on a clipboard and then offered a friendly smile. “Alright, you’re free to go, Shane! Make sure to pick up a bottle of aspirin from Maru at the front desk before you leave and try not to walk with that foot for a while. Ewan, did you come for a check up too?” The farmer quickly shook his head. It seemed he wasn’t any more eager than Shane was to get poked and prodded and asked intrusive questions. Harvey laughed at that reaction. “Alright, then you’d better get going to. I’ve got another appointment later today I should get ready for.”

“You’re not gonna read my measurements to me?” Shane asked, raising a brow.

“I assumed you wouldn’t want me to.” After a slight pause Harvey smiled again. “After all, Ewan’s standing right there, heh.”

“Yeah uh. Thanks.” Shane hadn’t even thought about that and was quite grateful for Harvey’s discretion as he turned to leave.

Shane had to insist on Ewan not helping him walk when he left the office, still not quite in rhythm with using his crutches but not wanting to have the farmer holding onto him at all times. He had enough that he needed to think over about him without adding that onto the pile. Still, as the farmer lingered around with him outside the clinic, he gave him a sidelong look.

“Hey, Ewan. Uh… I’m sorry about being so snippy with you all the time. You’re a pretty nice guy,” he said as casually as he could. “I’ll try to be less of a jerk to you.” Ewan looked slightly surprised before covering his mouth. Shane was confused until he saw Ewan’s shoulders shuddering, clearly holding back laughter. “Hey! I’m being genuine. It takes real effort,” Shane scoffed at him for laughing at his offer of peace. He turned and started his way back toward home. “I’ll see you around Ewan.”

The farmer waved to him and smiled brightly, happy that Shane was finally starting to warm up to him.


	4. Farmer's Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ewan invites Shane to the farm for lunch where Shane learns something about himself and Ewan that he didn't realize before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out a little longer than the others (about double the usual length) and actually has belly play and some other stuff in it this time around. Hope you enjoy!

 

Ewan’s offer to have him over was something Shane had been anticipating. He had started paying more attention to what the farmer was up to when he saw him in town and he had learned a couple of things. One was that Ewan followed the mantra of ‘always prepared’ judging by just how many tools and snacks he carried around with him. And the other was that he was receiving special treatment. 

Everyone else would get their share of attention from Ewan but Shane noticed that while it was something of opportunity with many of them (him stopping to give them something he’d been meaning to give them or to just see how their day was going), whenever he came to Shane it always seemed to be intentional. He would already have his gift for Shane in hand or look as though he was looking for something until he found where Shane was at in his usual hangouts around town. Clearly Ewan liked him and for the life of him Shane could not figure out why. But he tried not to give it too much thought. After all, more and more he was starting to find he liked the farmer too.

So when he received an offer to come over to his house and let him cook him lunch, he had accepted easily. He was still using his crutches due to his ankle so it was a pretty long trip. He hadn’t accounted for the overgrowth of the southern area of Ewan’s farm blocking the path that directly connected it to the area of the forest Marnie’s ranch was on, so he had to walk all the way through town to get to Ewan’s house instead. He wasn’t going to risk tripping in those weeds and rocks while in this condition.

By the time he got to Ewan’s place he felt sweaty and out of breath, leaning on one crutch to work on taking his jacket off.

“Buh… This damn summer heat,” he mumbled, draping the jacket over his shoulder while he balanced on his good foot. He looked down at himself with a frown, seeing he had sweat spots around his armpits and a bit down the front of his shirt as well, making it cling slightly to his soft chest. He furrowed his brows and considered looking for Ewan’s hose to just cool off and hide how sweaty he was, but he heard a creak and saw it was Ewan already opening his front door.

The farmer looked eager when he spotted him, grinning at him and coming right over to help him up the front steps to his house. “Easy. You’re practically dragging me,” Shane told him with an amused tone at Ewan’s hurry to get him inside. He plodded along up the few stairs carefully and headed right inside, feeling a rush of relief as soon as he was in. It was still warm in there but there were a couple of fans going and that was a huge step up from the summer sun outside.

Ewan gestured for him to have a seat in his armchair while he set about continuing to cook for him. Shane gladly settled in with a soft sigh at getting off of his feet. He hadn’t thought about how rough it would be trying to get around on just one foot or how much pressure would be on it without the second one to more evenly distribute his weight. His good foot was really starting to get sore and if he took too many long walks like that one, he wasn’t sure he’d even be able to call it his good foot anymore.

 

Shane looked around as he heard an odd noise come from behind the chair he was sitting in. He tried to lean and take a look behind him but there wasn’t anything there that he could see. However when he turned to face forward again, he realized the sound had been a mewl from Ewan’s orange tabby cat, the nosy pet having made its way around his chair and now sniffing at his bandaged foot.

“Oh yeah… I forgot you had a cat. Aunt Marnie told me she’d brought it over to you when you first got here,” Shane said, watching the cat hop up onto the arm of the chair. Ewan smiled at the two of them from the open kitchenette while he cooked, the aroma of sizzling beef reaching the den area. Shane petted the cat, scratching her on the back before reaching down to take a look at her tag which read “Ginger”. It seemed Ewan wasn’t the most creative man when it came to pet names. He stopped petting her to speak to Ewan again.

“So, I guess you get kind of lonely out here with just you and the animals, huh? Is that why you’re always running around and giving stuff to people?” Shane asked him. Ewan gave him an odd look as if it was strange he would even ask such a thing and then shrugged. He mumbled an answer, expressing enjoyment of seeing others happy from the things he gave them. Shane gave a little scoff at that. “I’d accuse you of lying, but it’s you so I’ll have to take your word for it. I’m surprised you make any money here with all the stuff you give away.” The farmer grinned about this, turning with his spatula in hand. He flipped it over in his hand, caught it, and gestured with it grandly to one of his shelves. Shane followed where he pointed then gave an impressed whistle.

While Shane hadn’t initially paid attention to the contents of the farmer’s kitchen, he saw one of his shelves was practically overfilled with bottles of wine with little stars on the front of them.

“Starfruit wine, huh? I take it back then. Guess you’re not hurting for profits at all.” He flinched slightly at feeling something sharp against the side of his stomach. He frowned disapprovingly at the cat when he saw her paw against him but softened some at seeing her start to knead him. It was hard to be mad at her when she was purring away while squishing her paws into his stomach. She then proceeded to hop up onto his stomach, making him flinch when her claws dug in when she started to slide off since it wasn’t quite the shelf it would need to be in order to hold her evenly. Ewan quickly moved his pan off of the stovetop then hurried over to pick her up while apologizing.

“It’s alright. She just mistook me for a waterbed. An honest mistake,” Shane tried to joke with him, lightly rubbing where he had been slightly scratched. To his shock, Ewan reached right over to touch the area as well. Ewan’s hand pressed down lightly on the spot, let up, and then reached down to pull his shirt up. He started to question him before he realized what he was doing. There was a little set of clawmarks, no longer than an inch or two where the cat had dragged its nails down him. Ewan was checking them and when he saw he wasn’t bleeding, he put his shirt down and gave another murmured apology before going back to the kitchenette.

Shane could feel how hot his face was, tomato red from the encounter. At least Ewan in his usual single-minded manner hadn’t noticed. Ewan had put his hand on his stomach. He had watched how when he pressed down his fingers sunk in, fat pinching up between his fingers as it tried to conform around the shape. Then he had pulled his shirt up and exposed his gut. Seen the pale expanse, the rolls on his sides, maybe even his stretchmarks if he had lingered at all in checking on the scratch. It was the part of him he was usually the most self conscious of on days when he could be bothered to care about other people’s opinions. Not to mention today it had that thin film of sweat over it, making Shane concern about whether he was wearing enough deodorant.

It was embarrassing. An utterly alien experience for him, having anyone see that part of him, let alone touch it. And yet… He was surprised he wasn’t at all mad at the farmer. In fact, he felt a little thrill from it. Which in and of itself was all the more embarrassing. Why would he be pleased at the farmer seeing his stomach? Seeing how much weight he had put on since they had met, up close and personal? He chanced a glance in Ewan’s direction, searching for any kind of reaction. It seemed like it was nothing to him. The farmer was just getting a damp washcloth and soon returned to him with it, handing it over to clean his scratches with. “Thanks,” Shane said, feeling like he was mumbling as badly as the farmer usually did as he accepted it.

A thought crossed his mind though once he had the washrag in hand. He looked up at Ewan, seeing he had stopped to smile and give a little nod as he usually did when he was thanked. Without looking away from him, Shane lifted his shirt back up to gently clean the scratches. He stared Ewan in the face and in doing so, he caught sight of something he hadn’t noticed before from the seemingly naive and overly generous man. As soon as Shane had his shirt pulled up and his stomach exposed, Ewan’s eyes hesitated only slightly before trailing down to look, seemingly not noticing that Shane was still looking at him.

Shane took his time, pressing the cloth down on the scratches and making sure he put the whole area of his palm against his stomach, causing it to crease and squish underneath his hand. He then dabbed at it more delicately, causing little waves of jiggles along the surface. Ewan swallowed, eyes locked on to these little movements. Shane grinned and pulled his shirt back down, Ewan’s eyes immediately coming back to meet his as he gave an almost wary grin, red playing across his cheeks as if he realized he had been caught.

 

“You just gonna leave that food off the burner all day? I’m starving,” Shane said to Ewan, leaning one elbow against the arm of the couch. Ewan quickly turned around to head back to the kitchenette and put the pan back on the stovetop as well as check something else he had boiling in a pot. Shane was onto him now and while it was tempting to just point it out and tease him about it, he knew he was equally excited by whatever was going on here. It was still hard to pinpoint, but he could take all the time he wanted to figure it out. For now, he decided to use this new discovery to push Ewan’s buttons.

 

The food didn’t take much longer to cook and Shane soon found himself being ushered over to sit at the table. He settled in on the wooden chair and leaned his crutches against the site of the table while Ewan went about serving him a plate. He normally would have insisted on just making up his own plate, not wanting to be waited on, but in this case he just sat back and waited. He was hurt anyway and it would be a chance to see what Ewan would do with free reign over his meal, knowing he had to be there to eat it.

He blinked as Ewan set his plate down in front of him. Sitting on the dish was a big hunk of steak, juicy and thick looking. For the sides he had been given two equally large scoops of potato salad and macaroni and cheese, and covering the remaining part of the plate was a modest little salad that Shane betted could be attributed to Ewan being there to hear Harvey recommend he eat more vegetables. Ewan then proceeded to butter a dinner roll and place it on the very edge of the plate since there was no more room elsewhere.

“Haha, wow. This is a lot for lunch, Ewan,” Shane pointed out, not having expected the steak. He looked up as Ewan sat down and was a little surprised to see he had his own plate equally full. A little hint of apprehension hit Shane now over his idea of teasing him. Was Ewan really into him and his body, hence all the food, or was this just normal to Ewan? With how he dug into his own steak he would bet that eating a lot was just in his nature but then he noticed. Ewan was still watching him, waiting for him to eat. He wanted to see his reaction to his cooking, as he usually did when he brought him food. Shane didn’t make him wait, cutting off a generous section of steak to eat. He gave a pleased “Mmm” as he found it was just as tender as he expected it to be, a little on the rare side and seasoned with herbs he imagined were probably grown on Ewan’s farm like most of his ingredients were.

“It’s delicious,” he told him, no longer feeling the need to hide his compliments from him. Ewan beamed broadly but unlike other times when this had happened, he didn’t avoid looking at Shane again. He ate and kept an eye on Shane, watching him enjoy his meal. Shane ate about half his steak before moving onto the sides. The mac n’ cheese was made with real cheese and baked, not just some mix thrown together. Every bite was rich and heavy and laden with melted cheese and flavorful pasta. The potato salad was pretty heavy as well, a bit creamier than he expected with particularly large chunks of potato in it compared to what Gus would make for town events. Even the salad had its own appeal with how crisp and fresh the vegetables were. Not to mention the cool lettuce and cherry tomatoes gave his stomach a bit of a rest from all the heavier foods he was filling up on.

 

He went around the plate, switching back and forth between each item until he speared the last bite of steak, chewing it and then giving a happy sigh as he sat back in his chair. “That was so good, Ewan.” Ewan had already cleaned his plate and beamed at seeing Shane looking full and happy. He got up to pour him some beer but put a hand on Shane’s shoulder when he went to get up, holding up a finger for him to just sit there and wait. Shane did as he was asked and took a sip of his beer before raising a brow as Ewan went to the fridge and pulled out another dish.

Once he brought it over to the table, Shane could see that it was a chocolate cake, and a familiar one at that. He was fairly sure that he had seen remnants of a similar one in the fridge at home, likely gifted to Marnie. It seemed Ewan could bake too.

“Dessert after lunch, huh? Yeah, sure, cut me off a slice,” Shane told him, resting a hand on his stomach and giving it a light rub. He still had a little room. Ewan did just that, cutting off a hunk of cake that made Shane groan internally. The guy just didn’t know what a ‘reasonable’ amount of food was. But he put it on a clean saucer and set it down in front of Shane, obviously expecting him to eat it. He cut a pretty big slice for himself as well, but nothing compared to the lion’s share he had given Shane. Ewan went back around to the opposite side of the table to sit down and eat his cake, smiling a patient sort of smile at Shane. It felt almost like he was being teased, like Ewan was telling him “Go ahead, eat up, unless you’re giving up”.

Shane forced a smile then proceeded to pick up his fork. Two could play at that game. He took off a sizable piece, making sure to get plenty of frosting with it, and ate it, giving a much more audible sound of enjoyment than he had with the steak. He could see Ewan’s eyes pop open a little wider at that, stopping mid-chew. “It’s so good, Ewan. I could eat it all in one go,” Shane told him, licking his lips and then having another bite. Sure, it was some obvious acting on his part, just wanting to get a rise out of Ewan, but he could tell it was doing something. Ewan seemed to have forgotten all about his own piece of cake.

Shane made a show of enjoying his cake, making sure to lick his lips and close his eyes in pleasure with each bite. Some aspects of it weren’t quite an act, such as having to pause in the middle of eating to adjust his shorts so they weren’t digging into his full stomach quite so harshly. But Ewan seemed entranced all the same. Shane wasn’t sure at this point whether he was more enjoying the attention, the cake, or just the amusing reactions Ewan would have to him eating. He had to stop and wipe his face a couple of times, realizing in his enjoyment of the act that he was getting frosting in his stubble and cake crumbs down the front of his shirt.

When he finally finished the slice off, Ewan nearly got up to get him another slice, but Shane was onto him before he could do it.

 

“Whoo. I’m stuffed. Mind if I lay back in your chair for a little while?” Shane asked, Ewan partway out of his chair as it was. The farmer nodded, embarrassed at his eagerness, and moved to help Shane up instead. He looked down subtly as he did to inspect Shane’s form, delighted to see his stomach fairly bloated from the big meal, the belly button dip even visible through his shirt due to the way it clung to him still from the initial walk over.

The thought of Shane getting bigger was an exciting one, but what was much more satisfying was seeing him full off of his cooking, having glutted himself on irresistible homemade dishes made with love and care and feeling good due to what Ewan made for him. Ewan could appreciate a big man, but even as attractive as those who were naturally big boned could be or people who grew fat on excess and junkfood or laziness, it was his personal touch that made Shane’s situation special to him. Ewan himself didn’t even fully understand this about how he felt about Shane’s body. He knew the attraction was there and that there had been a pattern with those in the past he had liked. But why it had to be him and his cooking was still something of a puzzle.

He gently pulled Shane to his feet, holding him up until he got his crutches under him, and then let him go to head over to the armchair. Shane could see the thoughtful way he was looking at him, the spark of desire from before not entirely gone but no longer at the forefront of the farmer’s expression. He wondered what was on his mind, but he knew better than to ask. He wasn’t likely to get much of an answer if it was anything other than something very simple to convey. He had other issues to deal with at the moment anyway. He had overdid it a little with that big slab of cake. He could feel the beginnings of a stomach ache and he wanted to try and relax and hopefully soothe it before it could get too bad.

Shane made his way over to the chair and turned around to sit back down in it, ignoring the little creak it gave as he did. He paused in thought and peered over one side of the chair. A lever, just as he hoped for. The thing was a recliner. He gladly pulled the lever, bringing up the leg rests and the backrest further back so he was nearly lying down. Now comfortable, he peeked to make sure Ewan was still busy cleaning up the kitchen before reaching down to unbutton his shorts. He gave a sigh of relief as he undid them, feeling his stomach spread a bit more without the restriction of his waistband around them. He then pulled his shirt down to cover it up and laid his head back down, rubbing gentle little circles on the sides of his stomach.

 

Ewan cleared the table and packed up the leftovers, figuring they’d make for a good lunch another day when he needed to go down into the mines. The cake he was a little more disappointed to put away, seeing it still had quite a bit left to it. He could eat that later too. He wasn’t big on sweets, but he wasn’t about to waste food.

Once everything was cleaned up, he took a look back over at Shane and gave a soft, wanting sigh. Shane was on his back in his recliner, stomach jutting up in a way that prevented him from seeing Shane’s face but still weighing down in a way that suggested there was still a good bit of fat covering up that filled up stomach. He noticed his hands on the sides of his stomach and hesitated before walking over. He saw Shane’s eyes were closed and his brows furrowed in slight discomfort. He still had a little chocolate on the side of his mouth he had missed while using his napkin. 

Ewan placed a hand on top of Shane’s stomach and his eyes opened, looking up at him with neither any particular signs of approval or disapproval. There was an air of uncertainty before Shane made up both of their minds.

“Are you just gonna stare at me or are you gonna rub? My stomach’s hurting and I could use a hand,” Shane told him, relaxing and letting his hands fall to his sides. Ewan set straight to work, using both hands to gently massage and squeeze on Shane’s stomach. He was too lucky, getting to finally touch Shane freely like this. He did his best not to grope him too harshly, not wanting to upset his stomach further, but he did let his hands wander a bit. 

He felt up on top of Shane’s stomach where it felt the firmest, sitting under softened breasts he didn’t yet dare to touch. 

Down lower, his stomach was much softer, sagging and hanging over the front of Shane’s lap. 

He chanced slipping a hand lightly under it, feeling the underside of his stomach seemed a little flabbier than other areas.

His sides were particularly fun to feel, having developed two distinct tiers due to the roll of fat under his ribs.

 

Shane laid back and let Ewan explore as he pleased, enjoying the feeling and finding it distracted him a little from the ache even if it didn’t actually help it much. He had never thought he would like being felt this way, especially with how he had been feeling about his weight lately. Having Ewan so earnestly interested in it made him feel good. And he of course was enjoying it himself, against all odds. Maybe he could learn to get over his nervousness about people noticing his weight.

He took in a sharp breath as Ewan rolled his hands against the center of his stomach, palms down. It put a little more pressure on his stomach than he had hoped for, though Ewan didn’t press down hard. He did it a second time before putting a hand on either side of Shane’s stomach and giving it a little bounce, causing it to jiggle.

“H-hey, easy with me. I told you my stomach’s hurting.” Ewan held up a finger for him to wait then started to press and squeeze on his stomach again, a little gentler but still seeming to have more purpose than when he was just feeling him up. He would squeeze then move to a different part and press there, doing this in a few places. Shane felt a small gurgle in his stomach, worried the attention might be upsetting it. But soon Ewan squeezed again and a burp escaped him, causing him to cover his mouth and flush again. Ewan stopped his squeezing and grinned at him, looking pretty pleased with himself. 

“Excuse me,” Shane muttered, though he looked a little annoyed with Ewan’s big smile about it. But he realized after a moment what he was doing. “Oh. You actually did help with my stomach ache. That feels a little better,” he said, looking down at his stomach with mild surprise. He could have done without the embarrassment of it happening involuntarily in front of Ewan while he was sprawled out on his recliner, but he would take the bit of returned comfort. “You’re a really weird guy, you know that?” he told Ewan, closing his eyes as he relaxed again. Ewan gave a soft chuckle at that then patted Shane’s belly as if to imply his job was done. He was rewarded with a little slap on the hand from Shane.

“Alright, alright, enough of that. How about you just bring me my beer?” Shane told him, and as always Ewan was happy to comply.


	5. The Fair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ewan enters the Stardew Valley Fair and Shane makes plans to hang out with him and enjoy Gus's free burgers. Meanwhile, Shane is still thinking over what his relationship with Ewan is.

The cool air of the fall season was a welcome change from the overbearing summer heat. Shane’s ankle was finally feeling better (though Harvey did warn him to not put too much strain on it now that he didn’t need his crutches) and he was free to enjoy the improved weather. The later part of summer had found him spending more time with Ewan whenever the two of them had time. It hadn’t occurred to him just how busy the farmer was since he was used to seeing him pop up wherever he frequented. But most days, the farmer spent the morning on his crops and animals, the afternoon running around and running errands, and the evening either recuperating or catching up with people around town.  
His schedule had reached an even more manic pace at the beginning of autumn and Shane was a little disappointed that their visits were less frequent. But he knew what the farmer was so determined to prepare for. The Stardew Valley Fair was coming up soon and everyone with any business in the agricultural field was working to gather their best goods to put in their displays. It wasn’t all about winning but rather to show the results of their hard work.  
But Ewan still seemed determined to win.

Shane had told Ewan he’d meet up with him at the festival after helping his aunt set her display up. While the animal products weren’t too numerous, they were still a little much for one person to transport. Jas even helped out, carrying along the eggs while Shane to carried the bolts of soft woven wool fabrics from her sheep. He laid out the fabrics carefully in the grange box when he and Jas arrived, Marnie having stayed behind a little longer to carefully wrap up her prized cheesewheel to ensure it would be safe on the walk over. Jas seemed antsy while he took each container of eggs and tried to make things look nice.  
“Got somewhere else to be?” he asked her in a teasing way, getting a sheepish look from the little girl.  
“Me and Vincent were gonna play the slingshot game and see who could get the most Star Tokens,” she said, looking off toward the game tents. “And I wanna have time to play all the games after that.”  
“Busy day, huh. Alright. I’ll take care of this,” he said, taking the cartons from her and just setting them in the box. He dug around in his pocket for some money to give her for the games, earning himself a big grin from Jas as she accepted it.  
“Thank you!” she said before quickly running off toward the tents to join her friend at the games. Shane worked on moving their display around to make room for the huge cheese Marnie would be bringing but realized after a moment that Jas had only made it a few paces away. He looked over to see her staring up at the grange boxes and followed her gaze. The box she was looking at contained an impressive variety of items. Gems, a huge pumpkin, some fish, home cooking. But the item Jas had locked onto was a large pink cake at the center of it, housed in a clear plastic cover to protect it from the elements. “Wow... It’s as fancy as that cake we got from Zuzu City on my birthday,” she said, eyes big at the fanciful candy decorations and pink icing.  
“Looks like Ewan’s already here somewhere,” Shane mused. He had hoped to get everything taken care of before Ewan arrived so they’d have plenty of time to hang out, but the farmer had apparently been pretty quick to get there. “Hey, Vincent’s probably waiting on you. I’ll tell Ewan to save a slice of that for you,” he told her, reminding her of her rush. She nodded and then hurried off, happy to know she would have a piece of her favorite treat later. Shane was eying the big baked good himself, but he doubted he’d be eating any of Ewan’s cooking today. Not at the fair where Gus had his free burgers for the whole day.

Shane waited for Marnie to arrive so that she could keep an eye on her display before going over to the animals to ensure that his chickens were all settled in and comfortable with so many people around. He was pleased to see them looking well preened and at ease even with other animals in the pens around them. Maybe next year he would bring some of the chickens from his secret breeding project to show off. He imagined they’d really draw some attention.  
But for now he made sure their water and food was full then turned to head up the little slope to get some burgers from Gus. He could smell the sizzling beef before he could see it, knowing Gus was likely busy cooking them up several at a time. But when he got up to the barbecue area, he saw Gus was busy with something else entirely.

“Ewan, I said’ve got it handled,” the tavern owner told the farmer, pushing his grasping hands away from the spatula and other implements sitting on the side of his grill. “I know you’re picky about your burger but just tell me how you want it done and I’ll do it.” The big red headed man looked put out at this, relenting on his pushiness. “You’d think you was the only cook in town,” Gus told him with a laugh, giving him a firm swat on the back before asking him how he wanted his burger done.  
Ewan gave a murmured answer before jumping as he felt a hand on his back despite Gus facing the grill, looking aside to see Shane there.  
“Can’t leave you alone a second without you being a pain to somebody, huh?” Shane asked him with a slight smile.  
“Oh, I was expecting you up here sooner, Shane. How’s your foot? Give you trouble on the hill?” Gus asked him, friendly as ever with his regular customer.  
“No, I just had some stuff to do first. My ankle’s feeling a lot better,” he answered, sticking his foot out slightly and turning it to demonstrate that it didn’t hurt to move like that anymore.  
“Good to hear it. I’m making a couple of rare patties right now but there’s some medium-rare patties done on the table already if you wanna put a burger together for yourself,” Gus told him while he cooked.   
Shane gladly took him up on that, subtly pulling the back of Ewan’s shirt to get him to follow along with him while he went to the table. He looked aside at the farmer while putting some condiments and other things on his sandwich.

“Rare, huh? Are you secretly a werewolf?” Shane teased him, getting a slight huff from Ewan at the joke over his tastes. Ewan mumbled about meat being better tender, though Shane had to strain to hear his exact words since he seemed even quieter than usual around all the noise of the other fair-goers. “Yeah, I noticed that you do,” Shane said with a quirked brow before having a bite of his burger. This got a grin out of Ewan even if he tried to hide it, a certain redness coming to his cheeks. It was an inside joke to be sure but Ewan had a feeling if Shane kept being so familiar with him like that in front of other people, his preference for ‘tender meat’ would be about as well kept a secret as the mayor’s relationship with Marnie. Which is to say, everyone was too polite to point out that it was the most obvious and poorly kept secret in town. Which Marnie and Louis’s fun was harmless, but Ewan felt he might be embarrassed if anybody tried to point out his infatuation with feeding Shane.  
Ewan’s eyes trailed over Shane while he ate, appraising his shape. His gain had slowed down quite a bit from the summertime. He still brought him food but their actual meals together weren’t too common and Shane’s metabolism had finally adjusted to his new diet. Ewan was fine with this. The weight had been a happy accident, but Ewan hadn’t been intentionally fattening him up. Still, it lingered on his mind that the holidays were around the corner and that he had a lot of winter baking ahead of him, especially as Shane sat down on the bench attached to the table and it gave a slight creak under him. He took up quite a wider space on the bench than he used to and that excited Ewan, seeing that he would need to sit quite close to Shane for both of them to fit there at the table with their broad (for somewhat different reasons) builds.

Shane was already putting together another burger when Gus finished Ewan’s burger patties. Ewan was eager to have them to put together a couple of sandwiches for himself, glad to eat with Shane after having such a busy morning. He sat down with him on the bench seat, albeit a little more carefully than Shane had as he worried about their combined weight on it. There were no problems though once he settled so he dug into his burger happily.  
“I’m glad to see you guys enjoying the burgers so much,” Gus said, seeming pleased that they were so eager for his cooking. He was used to Shane eating at the bar but Ewan was a tough customer. He was so occupied with his own homecooking, he rarely ate out, so it was a big compliment to see him looking so happy with his food. “I get a lot of people up here wanting them, but not many of them enjoy them with that kind of gusto. Guess that’s how it is with free food though,” he said with a chuckle.  
“Heh, yeah, they’re missing out though if they’re just taking them because it's free,” Shane told him between bites. “Hope you don’t mind us hanging around here. I skipped breakfast so I could enjoy all the fair food,” he added with a grin which Gus chuckled about.  
“Please, have all you want. The fair only comes once a year.” It struck Gus how odd it was to see Shane like this, smiling and joking and spending time with people during the fair instead of standing over his chickens like a nervous parent who didn’t trust other people to be near his feathered children.  
It was nice to see him finally having a good time at the fair. Ewan had proven to be a very helpful and generous neighbor but out of all the people in Pelican Town, Gus could bet that Shane had benefited the most from his company.

It took a little while before Mayor Louis got around to judging the displays. It seemed he had gotten caught up in conversation with Marnie. So Ewan and Shane had plenty of time to sit around at the food tables and eat to their hearts’ content while chatting with each other and Gus. After a little while, they wound up breaking out a few beers as well, though they were spread around sparingly since Gus informed them he wasn’t going to be giving those out to the public for free. They didn’t need a bunch of drunk tourists at the fair.  
Gus kept an eye on how much Ewan and Shane drank as well, though he concerned more for Shane than Ewan. While they were both bigger guys, Shane was quite a bit shorter and seemed less aware of his limitations on some nights in the saloon. So after a few drinks, he cut the two of them off. He couldn’t have Shane consider it unfair by letting Ewan continue to drink without him. Then again, the farmer looked like he’d had enough as well. He was fairly bloated from the food and the beer, his usually chubby beer belly now firmly pressed out against his overalls, and didn’t look too enthusiastic to eat any more. Shane on the other hand was still idly snacking on some chips while he sat facing away from the table itself and leaned back against it comfortably, his previously slightly baggy shirt now fitting to his shape. He must not have been joking about skipping breakfast.  
But finally Mayor Louis’s voice could be heard over the crowd down in the town square, announcing that judging was completed and for those who had put up displays to come and speak with him to get their scores. Ewan suddenly perked up, putting his hands on the table to help himself up and stumbling back slightly when he got back on the other side of the bench. Shane tensed a bit at the sound the table made when Ewan put that pressure on it but relaxed once more once he was up. He didn’t want Gus’s hard work to go to waste if the strong farmer managed to break the table under his food.  
“Careful going down the hill,” Shane told him with a chuckle as the farmer speed-walked off from there to go see the mayor.

Gus watched Ewan go, cleaning up a little around the grill area now that things were starting to wind down. He then looked aside at Shane while he bagged up some empty containers.  
“So, you and Ewan…” Shane looked up to Gus at that, brows furrowed.  
“...Yeah? What about me and Ewan?” he asked, wanting Gus to just come out with whatever he had to say about it. He wasn’t going to just beat around the bush and in his momentary irritation, Gus saw he was still the same old Shane.  
“I noticed you’re real close these days. And that you’ve been smilin’ a lot,” Gus said. “Just wondered if he’s what you’re smilin’ so much about.” Shane could feel his face growing red despite his best attempts to mask any reaction to that.  
“Sure. What’s wrong with that? He’s a really nice guy. Everybody knows he is.”  
“There’s nothing wrong with being closer with him than ‘everybody’, you know,” Gus told Shane with a slight shrug. Shane seemed annoyed but his expression slowly softened.  
“Alright. So maybe there’s something there. But it’s nothing really solid yet. I just know we’re having a good time the way things are right now,” Shane finally explained, scratching the back of his head. “I don’t want to rush into anything or put labels on it.” Gus nodded in understanding, used to hearing about people’s relationships over the counter at the saloon.  
“Well, I’m happy for you. I just wondered, since you used to complain a lot about him. I think everybody gets on your nerves at first though,” Gus chuckled.  
“It’s easier to not deal with new people than have to figure them out,” Shane sighed. “But he didn’t really give me a say in it since he was constantly around, so…”  
“Yep. He’s a real social butterfly.” 

They both looked over to the slope as Ewan came hurrying back up to them, that telltale bag of star tokens in hand signifying he had won one of the prizes. He stumbled a bit as he came to the grass, clearly more tipsy than Gus had expected from just a couple of beers, but was grinning ear to ear about his prize.  
“Which place did you get?” Shane asked him as he came over, to which Ewan announced he had gotten first place, absolutely beaming with pride. “Wow. Guess all that crunch time working on your stuff for the fair really paid off, huh?” Ewan didn’t answer this time, instead happily hugging on to Shane. Shane was red once more but held him in return, feeling glad that he was the one Ewan wanted to be excited with. 

At least until he gave a yelp as Ewan took a big handful of his lovehandles through his jacket and squeezed him. Shane made a note not to let Ewan drink with him in a public place again, no matter how many free burgers they ate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the Kudos and comments, guys! If you're enjoying the story, feel free to leave suggestions in the comments for other situations you'd like to see since right now things are pretty quiet and slow-burn romance on top of Shane's weight gain.


	6. Winter Weight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane struggles to fit into his winter gear for the Festival of Ice and then decides it would be a good idea to try and crawl into the igloo he helps to build.

The snow had settled in nicely over Pelican Town, coating everything visible within the valley. It wasn’t an unmanageable amount, easy enough to keep off of the paths and roads in town, but just enough that it served as building materials for various snowmen and settled over the rooftops for a picturesque winter scene. It made for the perfect weather for the Festival of Ice as well. Despite the biting chill of the winter air, the whole town was present for this, having gotten up early to start on their carving of the ice or use of the snow to build igloos.

Shane hadn’t particularly wanted to get up so early on such a cozy winter morning where the warmth of his bed was more tempting than usual, but Jas had pestered him until he agreed to go out and help her. So, he got out of bed, the mattress giving a groan at the weight that shifted on it, and started to get together his snow clothes to get dressed for the weather. He had a brand new set he had yet to wear outside of initially trying them on when they arrived. He was glad that he had ordered it to since he had found once Ewan’s business preparing for the fair was over, his weight gain had resumed at full force.

Time spent with Ewan was often time spent eating, and they had spent more time together once the season for the fair had passed. Often they could be seen in each other’s company whenever neither was working, and it had come to the point where Ewan would even occasionally visit and hang around with Marnie and Jas as he became more friendly with his neighbors. But there were always gifts of food. It was to be expected at this point. And Shane had learned well and truly that he could not resist Ewan’s cooking. No leftovers lasted more than a day, regardless of how much there were, and that was only on the rare occasion there were any leftovers at all. Coupled with the sweets the winter season brought, Shane was unsurprised to discover he continued to grow heavier.

He thought he was finally catching on to the process. He ordered new clothes for the winter as soon as it started to get cold, though he tried to keep his purchases minimal. He needed to ration out his money so he could afford to buy something nice for Marnie and Jas. So he just bought himself a couple of pullover hoodies, a snow coat, and a pair of snow pants that worked like overalls. This all seemed well enough but as it turned out, he had ordered them a little too early to get the sizing correct. He didn’t realize until the morning of the Festival of Ice that even though he ordered them with a little extra room in mind, he had put on more weight than he had planned for between ordering them and actually wearing them.

The pants were the primary problem. The coat could be dealt with, wearing the stretchy hoodie underneath and leaving the coat open if he absolutely had to. But the pants.

He had realized as soon as he pulled them up past his thighs that they didn’t quite fit right. He had to wiggle and pull to get the thick material up over his backside, feeling it hug his full buttocks more than it was really meant to. He reached back to feel the material and make sure it wasn’t too taut to bend down in. Even with the tight pants on, he could feel quite a bit of give. Though the padding of the suit to protect against the elements really didn’t serve to make him any smaller, only making him feel as if his backside stuck out even more than usual and as though he couldn’t stand wide enough to come close to separating his thighs. He reminded himself it would look more proportionate once he got the whole thing on.

He turned his attention back to the front of the pants, feeling around under his stomach for where the straps and chest material were. He couldn’t really see them for himself, given how his stomach now extended enough in front of him to fully obscure his view of even his feet when standing upright. He located them by touch and pulled them up, the little straps on the chest piece having a place to connect them to the suspenders than ran from the back of the suit. He reached behind him with one arm to find one of the longer straps and pull it over his shoulder, having to take a second attempt to get them over the correct side and not twisted up.  
  
“Shane? Are you up out of bed in there? We’re waiting!” Marnie called to Shane from the door, suspicious of how long it had been between him being woken up and now without him actually leaving the room.

“I’m getting dressed. Give me a minute. It’s a whole process with this snow junk,” Shane told her with a little huff as he pulled on the pants with an effort to bring the strap closer to the front of the suit. No dice. He sighed and started over again, this time loosening the straps to give them more length. Still not even close. A third try, this time letting them out as long as they would go. Had this really been meant to fit him at the beginning of the season? He sucked in his gut as far as it could go and pulled. 

He felt achieved as he heard the click and quickly connected the other suspender before letting his breath out with a relieved sigh. He felt like a sausage in a casing, his stomach held tight against his body by the pants and even pushed upward slightly to his chest as if built to support it, but he was wearing them. He imagined the chest piece was supposed to go up to cover his chest and not, well, cradle his stomach up to about two thirds of the way up it and that the straps were not meant to dig into his shoulders so harshly. But he could still argue that in some very generously loose sense of the word, they still fit.

He checked himself out in his mirror with a disapproving little frown as he saw how much of his belly spilled out the top and sides of the pants and how his breasts were pushed up to bring attention to themselves. He slipped on his snowcoat over top of the pants to cover them, finding that fortunately while it was still quite tight, the compression of his stomach by the pants made the jacket still fit pretty reasonably when zipped up. He stepped into his snowboots and then finally left his room.

 

“Wow, you’re all sweaty already. Maybe your coat is _too_ warm?” Jas suggested as soon as she saw him, getting the expression out of Shane he usually made when she made a comment he took to be smart-allecky.

“Well then I’ll cool off out in the snow. Let’s go build that igloo.”

 

\---

  
  


The igloo had been hard work and it made Shane glad they hadn’t had to walk far from home for the festival. He pushed on the structure in a couple of spots, checking its structural integrity, before giving Jas a nod to approve its safety to use. No sooner had she crawled inside to check it out and try to get him to come in with her than Vincent appeared, seeming excited about something.

“Jas!” he called into the igloo, sticking his head in as he didn’t seem to even take notice of Shane. “I saw some mushrooms frozen in a big chunk of ice over by the trees! Come look at them!” With that, the children were off, leaving Shane there looking exasperated over spending all morning on an igloo Jas already had lost interest in. He looked around for Marnie, wanting to complain a bit to her about it, but found she was already off mingling with the others. It seemed he was on his own here.

 

Nobody was around the little igloo and a thought crossed his mind. He could at least justify the igloo if he went inside it for a couple of minutes and got out of the nippy winter air. He double checked that no one was there before kneeling down, his belly pressed between his chest and his thighs on this position. The hole was taller than it was wide, though not by much. It would definitely be a tight squeeze. He got down on his hands and knees, second guessing his idea a bit. The door really had been made more with Jas in mind, and wasn’t meant to big enough to let the wind in. But it was still big enough, he reasoned. Especially with these snow pants forcing his gut against his body. 

He moved to lay his stomach down on the ice and carefully crawl forward. His shoulders cleared with just barely an inch on either side, reassuring him about the possibility he would fit. Then past his chest and ribs with only a slight scrape against the sides. But then there was the big obstacle. Reaching about halfway down his belly, the hole was completely plugged. He squinted and looked back at himself, finding the light rather dim in there without the door letting more in. He pulled himself with his hands and wriggled, making a little more progress. He could feel the tightness around his middle and how the lovehandles on the outside of the door overflowed it and effectively stopped him from getting the rest of the way in. He sucked in his stomach and tried one more big push through, boots scraping on the snow as he moved forward… About two inches.

He stopped to catch his breath, cheeks flushed both from the effort exerted and from the idea someone might spot him at any moment and realize he was too fat to fit in the igloo he had helped build. He started to pull back then bit his lip. Part of his belly, at least the upper tier of it, had made it through with him. So now that he was trying to push his way back out, that ring of fat was caught on the sides of the hole just as his lovehandles were on the outside, effectively keeping him snug and tightly held in the igloo’s door from both sides. He twisted and squirmed, feeling his compacted belly rubbing on the icy dirt below and his soft back pinching up against the igloos ice at the top of the doorway. 

He froze in place as he heard someone else crunching through the snow and over to him, closing his eyes and thinking for a moment how he would like to go back to that morning and just not bother getting out of bed if the end result was getting caught stuck halfway in an igloo. But after a moment, the person knelt down and grabbed onto his ankles, getting a yelp out of him as they dragged him backwards and popped him right out of the tight spot.

 

He looked up and sighed in relief at seeing Ewan standing over him, looking bewildered at finding Shane trapped in an igloo at the festival. “Hahhh… H-hey, Ewan. Guess I’ve just gotta rely on my natural insulation instead of the igloo now, huh?” he asked him, still catching his breath. Ewan glanced passed him and Shane followed his gaze, face turning deep red at seeing Evelyn on the other side of the igloo with George in his chair, the old couple looking equal parts concerned and amused.

“We saw you kicking around down there and Evelyn went and got the farmer,” George told him, looking as if he thought Shane was as stupid as he had felt he was while stuck in the igloo. “Figured the ice cracking could be a problem for people at this thing. Never considered anybody would be senseless enough to get stuck in a little snow sculpture like that.” Oof. That stung.

“Oh George,” Evelyn said with a little frown, squinting a bit as she looked down at him then back to Shane. “It was just an accident. He probably built it smaller than he meant to.” Another little twinge to Shane’s pride. Ewan noticed the strain in his expression and gave him a little elbow to the side before smiling and handing over a little thermos from inside his jacket while the old couple talked.

Shane gave him a sidelong glance and opened the thermos, taking a sniff of it. Hot coffee. He poured a little bit into the thermos cap to drink, though he saw Ewan get out a second thermos to drink from himself. He smiled at knowing Ewan brought some coffee just for him, sipping it and then paused. Irish coffee. Yes, this was probably a more reasonable explanation for why Ewan had two separate thermoses. He quickly finished the cup and poured another one, looking to where George and Evelyn were still talking.

Seeing the men were looking her way again, Evelyn gave Ewan a cheery smile. “Oh, that reminds me, dear. I have some cookies for you next time you stop by. Come over some time soon. They’re better when they’re fresh,” she told the farmer. Shane gave an amused smile. As popular as ever. Ewan seemed happy about this and thanked her, assuring her he would be over later. George on the other hand looked to Shane again, Shane regarding him warily in return.

Shane was known to have a pretty sour attitude but he considered George to be just as bad if not worse. People just disregarded it because George was old. Shane had decided at some point that the attitude had little to do with him being old. He was a young grouch and now he was an old one. There was something to be said about opposites balancing each other out since his wife was so kind but also so care-free.

“I mean it about that ice,” George told Shane after a moment.

“What about the ice?” he asked, furrowing his brows.

“You heard me. It’s dangerous. But especially for someone like you.”  
“Like me? What about me?” Shane said, already looking ready to be irritated with what he said.

“A hefty guy like you with no sense of himself. If you thought you would fit in that hole, I don’t doubt you’re the kind of dummy who can’t tell when he’s too heavy for the thinner ice,” George said with a serious expression. “I just don’t want you falling through because you expect to be able to just tromp across it. There’s no warning when it breaks. It’s why Evelyn and I watch the ice fishing from way back here.”

Shane was ready to be mad at George for insulting him, but as quickly as his temper started to flare up it died down. He just frowned and took a sip of his coffee. He worded it blunt to the point of being rude, but George really was trying to advise him for his safety.

“Sure. I’ll remember that and just stay on the snow. But you don’t have to call me stupid and ‘hefty’ at the same time to make your point,” he said with a little scoff and a chuckle. George clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“Oh, you’ll live. You don’t seem that broken up. And just wait until you’re as old as me. Can’t put weight on for anything so you’re always cold,” he said, Evelyn hearing this and adjusting his blanket some.

“Let’s ask Marnie if we can sit in her kitchen a little while and warm up until the ice fishing starts,” Evelyn suggested with her hand on his shoulder. She looked to Shane with a smile. “Do you know where your aunt is?”

“Last I saw, she was over there talking to Louis,” Shane said, hiking a thumb over in their direction.

“Oh, thank you, dear.” With that, Evelyn and George were off, notably going all the way around the bare ice where the holes were carved. It seemed they took it quite seriously. Shane wondered if they had seen someone fall through in their younger years or if it was just a case of over cautiousness.

Whatever the case, he was happy to be alone with Ewan again, leaning on the farmer while he finished up the last of his Irish coffee.

“Thanks for pulling me out of there. Where were you though? I didn’t see you around the festival when I was working on that thing.” Ewan gave a quiet explanation of having work to do in the morning, and how Evelyn had flagged him down as soon as he arrived. “Huh. Guess you weren’t expecting to find me like that, huh?” The farmer grinned, mentioning it wasn’t the most unlikely thing. He then suggested next year they stick to Shane’s idea of a Pizza Festival instead. “Mm, yeah, that would be the better festival. How about after your fishing thing, we go back to your place and do that instead?” Shane asked, looking up at Ewan as he leaned into him both in affection and to subtly sap his warmth.

Ewan seemed utterly thrilled with the idea and made a note to bring some firewood in with them as well. After all, he’d have to get the place nice and warm for Shane to be comfortable with taking off all that heavy snowgear. And as puffy as it was, he still noticed the strained zipper on the jacket and how much the pants showed off the curve of his butt. They were very tight and surely Shane would be a little annoyed if he ate too much and popped out of them.

The more Ewan thought about it however, the more tempted he was to see exactly that happen. Yes, the “Pizza Festival” just might be his new favorite event.


End file.
